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Changes at ccrudolphy.net PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chuck   
Sunday, 10 January 2010 15:04

You will notice a couple of slight changes to the website. 

The addition of some Amazon ads on the right side of your browser screen.  I have become an Amazon Associate.  What that means is that if you come to my website, click on one of the Amazon ads and then purchase something, I get a very small commission.  What I hope is that it will cover the approximately $50.00/year it costs for me to hold my domain name and dns services. So if you are an Amazon customer and you get to Amazon by first coming to ccrudolphy.net and then clicking one of the Amazon links on my web page you will help me defray the costs of maintaining the website.

An additional change is I have added a commenting application to the site.  Now all articles can be commented on.  You don't have to become a member just click on "Add a new Comment" below each article and comment away.   Please keep your comments "appropriate".  Need to leave any explicit language behind.  I consider this a "family friendly" website.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 January 2010 15:26 )
 
Not Sick! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chuck   
Sunday, 10 January 2010 14:52
Well, it is Sunday, it is cold outside, and I AM NOT SICK!  Actually I was feeling well enough Friday to go to work, which I did.  Then it was my turn in the barrel for Saturday, so I went Saturday and spent all day there catching up on the stuff I hadn't gotten done the three days I was out.  My 2010 files are setup, yay!  I have a suggestion for all, don't get the flu.  I don't know if I had H1N1 or not, but it wasn't until I took the TamiFlu that I started to feel better.  The older I get the worse I feel with just a slight temperature.  My temperature never got above 101 F, and I was miserable.  Anyway I am over it and I hope nobody else gets it.  The flu sucks!
 
Disappointing Experience PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chuck   
Monday, 28 December 2009 21:23

Every year on December 24th part of the family that is celebrating Christmas goes for an early afternoon shopping trip to the bookstore for books and a coffee.  Because we celebrate Christmas in the Sharpstown area of Houston, we have traditionally made this outing to the Borders bookstore on the corner of Gessner and Westheimer.  Sadly this Borders location is closing, the cafe was already shutdown and the store itself was in "Going out of Business" mode.  But this was not the worst of the disappointment.

Normally it is a fairly large group that goes, as many as 10 of us.  But sadly this year there were only 2, myself and my father-in-law Carlos.  We ventured to the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Westheimer and Stoney Brook.  This is  a large location whose sign says it has a "cafe".  Well there is not a "cafe" at this location, rather a Starbucks that leases a corner of the building.  This Starbucks is separate from the bookstore so you can not carry books un-purchased into the Starbucks, they must be paid for first.  There is a door that connects the two so you don't have to walk outside from the bookstore to the coffee shop but again they are considered separate facilities so if you go to the Starbucks without purchasing your books first, you could be accused of shoplifting.  I don't say this lightly, read on.

I resigned myself to probably not having a coffee while I leafed through my book and magazine selections.  I went to find a place to sit down and look over my choices.  I of course was also waiting for Carlos to make his selections.  We would sit together, look over our selections and visit with each other. 

In the center rear of the store is a clear area of floor space separated from the rest of the store by the chrome stands and large diameter cloth covered rope like you would see at a movie theater to keep people in line.  Within this area are a dozen or so small round tables that two people might be able to sit together at.  This area was advertised as their "Free WiFi" area.  Every table was occupied by no more that 1 person with their laptop out and other paraphernalia on the table.  There was no place for two people to sit, but several un-used chairs.  Outside of, yet adjacent to, this area was a large wooden table that had nothing on it.  I decided this would be a good place to land and look over my selections.  I grabbed an un-used chair from the "Free WiFi" area, moved it to the table and sat down to look at the 1/2 dozen books and magazines I would consider.

As I waited to be joined by Carlos, an employee of Barnes and Noble approached.  Dressed in an ill fitting black sport coat and white collared shirt underneath that had the word "Security" embroidered over the breast pocket, he proceeded to inform me that I could not sit at this table.  This table was a display table and not to be used for sitting at.  He also informed me that if I had taken the chair from the "Free WiFi" area that I would be required to return it.  Before I was able to say a word or offer a protest, I was told by this employee that there were two designated seating areas within the store.  One was within the "Free WiFi" area I was adjacent to and the other was at what would be the south wall of the store.  Of course there was no table to sit at within the "Free WiFi" area and the south wall of the store had no chairs and people sitting on the floor.  I don't think that my 90 year old father-in-law was going to sit on the floor with me to look over his book selections.

I did as I was asked returning the chair to the place i had gotten it from.  The only comment I made to the employee was that they needed to have more seating in this store.  I then returned my selections to the shelves I found them in, I found my father-in-law and we promptly left without spending a dime at Barnes and Noble.

I was disappointed that my annual trip to the bookstore for books and coffee had been ruined.  We drove down the street and went to the Borders.  As I said it was in "Going out of Business" mode.  Most of the store was in disarray, but we looked and found some bargains and between the two of us spent close to $160.00 on books as gifts for those that didn't make the trip with us.  I tell you this to show what Barnes and Noble missed out on.

Barnes and Noble to the best of my knowledge invented the "Bookstore as a destination" marketing concept.  They had a good inventory, they scattered chairs around their stores for people to sit at.  They had small seating arrangements besides individual chairs within their stores to give you that "living room" feeling.  Of course there was also the "cafe" where one could purchase a Starbucks coffee, move about the store, or sit in any number of areas and visit with friends or relatives.  They encouraged you to pick up a book or magazine and look through it, discuss with companions, and spend as much time as you liked in one of their stores because they knew if you enjoyed the experience, you would make it a regular destination, and spend some of your hard earned dollars with them rather than one of their competitors.

Well after my experience this Christmas Eve, I think Barnes and Noble has lost sight of their own marketing invention.  I will not spend another dime of my hard earned money with Barnes and Noble.  We will continue to visit the Borders that is in the Woodlands (where we live) because they continue to encourage the type of experience that Barnes and Noble invented.  Borders is a destination for us.  Additionally instead of purchasing my wife a Barnes and Noble "Nook" for Christmas, I bought her an Amazon Kindle!  Take that Barnes and Noble.

 

 

Last Updated ( Monday, 28 December 2009 21:50 )
 
Sick! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chuck   
Thursday, 07 January 2010 16:27
I have been sick since Monday evening.  3 days with 99 to 101 temp which finally broke last night.  Today I still have a sore throat and feel weak.  I hate this!  Ironically we watched a commercial for one of the national drug store chains advertising H1N1 inoculations and I commented that I hadn't gotten one and wouldn't need one because I wasn't going to get the flu.  Now I am taking Cipro and Tamiflu and it looks like the Tamiflu did the trick.  Soon as I can regain my strength and get back to work I will be happy.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 January 2010 15:18 )
 
Christmas Eve PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chuck Rudolphy   
Thursday, 24 December 2009 10:18

Well it is Christmas Eve morning at Abita and Papi's (my in-laws) in Houston.  All the kids are here and we are having a great time.  Laptops are out, music is playing, and the bullxxxx is flying.  Dinner prep has started.  We still have our annual trip to the bookstore for books and an expresso to go then dinner and presents.

We are trying to eat early as some have to be back in Austin tonight.  The rest of us will head to our respective homes for our personal Christmas celebrations tonight.   We are looking forward to a fine Cuban dinner, leg of pork, rice, black beans, yucca.  Eric cooked a great fish stew for dinner last night.  We had visits from friends and look forward to our planned activiities today and our celebration tonight.

I want to wish all a very safe and happy Holidays.

 

 
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